Pain Control for Intrauterine Device Placement: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Paracervical Block

Modern IUDs are highly effective long acting reversible forms of contraception. The Mirena IUD is 99.8% effective and the Paragard copper IUD is 99.2% effective in preventing pregnancy. Fear of IUD placement can be a barrier to obtaining this highly effective form of birth control. The current standard of care for pain management during and after IUD placement is no medication, as randomized control trials published to date have limited data regarding use of medications to decrease pain. There has been one trial to suggest that the use of naproxen with 1% lidocaine paracervical block (PCB) compared to PCB alone may decrease pain after IUD placement in primarily nulliparous patients. However, this study was with the much wider and no longer available Dalkon Shield IUD. In addition, this study did not show any significant decrease in pain scores during IUD placement. Studies to evaluate effectiveness of ibuprofen and misoprostol have shown no significant decrease in pain scores during and after IUD insertion, although the majority of participants in these studies were multiparous. There is some suggestion that 2% lidocaine gel one minute prior to IUD insertion may have some decrease in pain, although this study was poorly designed.

Although there is no standard of care in regards to pain medication administration prior to IUD placement, providers often suggest paracervical prior IUD insertion among nulliparous women. Therefore the primary aim of this study is to determine whether a paracervical block (PCB) decreases pain associated with intrauterine device (IUD) placement compared to no paracervical block. We hypothesize that administration of a PCB of 20 mL 1% buffered lidocaine prior to IUD placement will decrease pain scores by at least 20mm on a visual analog scale at various time points during IUD placement when compared to no paracervical block.